U2

[Darkes7]

However, is it -(6*10²³), or (-6)*10²³ ...

Damn, you're too clever.

[73109]

Posts that make sense are awesome.  On the "awesome" spectrum, the above post rates about minus 6*10²³.  You may read into that whatever you like.

See, now I am confused?

[KevShmev]

Saw some of last night's show at the Rose Bowl.  Bono's vocals were pretty hoarse.  I never understand why so many bands wait till the end of tours to record shows for a live DVD, considering the singer's voice is often wore down a bit by then from the long tour. 

[Fluffy Lothario]

So, I've been listening to U2 fairly steadily since... January, I think.

Started with their two Best Ofs. The first is solid, the second is a mixed bag, although I guess that's to be expected. Didn't actually spend too much time on these, I was basically using them to get an impression of their history before I moved on to the separate albums.

I've since checked out The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, and the Unforgettable Fire, in that order. I don't really see why The Joshua Tree gets so much more attention than those other two albums, to be honest. They're all incredibly solid, although Rattle and Hum is a tad bloated, and I hear it got a fairly lukewarm response at the time.

My favourite song of theirs at this point is Hawkmoon 269 by a fairly decent margin.

I'm looking forward to checking out War at some point, and also their debut. Achtung Baby... I can't say my expectations are too high there. Even from the tracks on the Best Of, the only one I find really good is Mysterious Ways.

[KevShmev]

Nice!  Great to hear you are listening to them!  They are still very high on my list of bands I currently listen to the most.

Many were down on R&H at the time because of how it was a mix of live and studio tracks, instead of being a normal studio album.  But, really, most of the studio tracks are aces (except for one or maybe two).  "All I Want Is You" will never be topped, "Hawkmoon 269" is definitely a killer tune, and I simply adore "Van Diemen's Land."  The other three hits from it are good, too.  And we cannot forget about the underrated gem that is "Heartland."

In regards to AB, I am surprised you don't like "One" or "Until the End of the World," which seem to be the most similar to U2 stuff you would already be familiar with.  I can see why "The Fly" would be somewhat of a shock to the system.  That aside, Achtung Baby is far and away my favorite U2 CD, and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" is a phenomenal song that must be heard by anyone interested in the band.

Given what you like so far, War is definitely a good place to go next.  It is mostly really good (except for "The Refugee" and the god-awful "Red Light"), and has several U2 standards you will recognize, as well as some hidden gems like "Surrender" and "Drowning Man."

Anyway, keep us apprised of your progress!

[Fluffy Lothario]

Still loving U2. Haven't moved to any new albums, I'm spending some time on the ones I've heard already.

In regards to AB, I am surprised you don't like "One" or "Until the End of the World," which seem to be the most similar to U2 stuff you would already be familiar with.  I can see why "The Fly" would be somewhat of a shock to the system.  That aside, Achtung Baby is far and away my favorite U2 CD, and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" is a phenomenal song that must be heard by anyone interested in the band.

I still haven't heard the whole album, just the songs on the Best Of. One is okay, and I really like Mysterious Ways, but the other two just don't really strike me as very strong. Based on that, I don't have the strongest of expectations for the album, but we'll see.

If I was to say my favourite U2 songs at the moment, I'd say Hawkmoon 269, Bad, and Miss Sarajevo.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Nice!  Great to hear you are listening to them!  They are still very high on my list of bands I currently listen to the most.

Many were down on R&H at the time because of how it was a mix of live and studio tracks, instead of being a normal studio album.  But, really, most of the studio tracks are aces (except for one or maybe two).  "All I Want Is You" will never be topped, "Hawkmoon 269" is definitely a killer tune, and I simply adore "Van Diemen's Land."  The other three hits from it are good, too.  And we cannot forget about the underrated gem that is "Heartland."

In regards to AB, I am surprised you don't like "One" or "Until the End of the World," which seem to be the most similar to U2 stuff you would already be familiar with.  I can see why "The Fly" would be somewhat of a shock to the system.  That aside, Achtung Baby is far and away my favorite U2 CD, and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" is a phenomenal song that must be heard by anyone interested in the band.

Given what you like so far, War is definitely a good place to go next.  It is mostly really good (except for "The Refugee" and the god-awful "Red Light"), and has several U2 standards you will recognize, as well as some hidden gems like "Surrender" and "Drowning Man."

Anyway, keep us apprised of your progress!

Achtung Baby is my favorite album from them and Ultraviolet is BY FAR my favorite song from them.....CHEERS!!

[Fluffy Lothario]

Finally giving Achtung Baby a first listen, and I'm pleasantly surprised. The songs that I was lukewarm about on their second Best Of (Until the End of the World, One, and Even Better than the Real Thing) work really well in the context and flow of the album, and all the other tracks seem pretty strong too. This could end up my favourite of their albums too.

[KevShmev]

Awesome.  Achtung Baby is amazingly consistent.  12 songs, all of them very strong, especially some of the non-hits like "Acrobat," "Love Is Blindness" and "So Cruel."  It took me almost 20 years, but I even like "Mysterious Ways" a lot now.

[The Letter M]

Anyone else listening to "New Year's Day"?

-Marc.

[Volk9]

Anyone else listening to "New Year's Day"?

-Marc.

Listened to it earlier today Great song

[TimelessSymphony]

this band is great and some song calm me down for some reason i love the song "With or Without You".. the first time i listen to it was on Friends

and since then i find U2 interesting

[aparadoxindeed]

Does anybody else love their first album "Boy" as much as I do?  For some reason I find myself listening to this one the most.  "I Will Follow" and "The Electric Co." are such rocking songs...  I like that at this point in their careers they were just rock musicians.  I also really like their live album "Under a Blood Red Sky".  Again, just so rocking!

[KevShmev]

Boy has a handful of songs I like, but it also has just as many forgettable tunes.  "I Will Follow" and "The Electric Co." are definitely the two standouts, and "Out of Control" is very nice, as well.  Overall, the only U2 album I like less than it is probably October, but it is still a respectable debut.  And it definitely has a raw and youthful charm to it.
 
Under a Blood Red Sky is definitely a great live album.  It is rare for me to consider a live version by any artist THE definitive version of a particular song, as I almost always prefer the studio versions, but I'd say the live versions of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "The Electric Co." on that record are the definitive versions of those songs.  Maybe even "40," as well.

[Fluffy Lothario]

I recently listened to War for the first time. It was bloody solid. The stretch these guys had from War through to Achtung Baby is pretty impressive.

I read an article a little while ago about a band called The Eels. The author basically used the introduction as an excuse to badmouth U2. He was saying it's sad how some bands aren't prepared to take their sound which has proven to be a success and do interesting things with it to push themselves, and instead they play it safe, make the same music over and over, and basically write loads of rubbish. U2 was I think the sole example he gave.

The funny thing was, the guy clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

[tri.ad]

Does anybody else love their first album "Boy" as much as I do?  For some reason I find myself listening to this one the most.  "I Will Follow" and "The Electric Co." are such rocking songs...  I like that at this point in their careers they were just rock musicians.  I also really like their live album "Under a Blood Red Sky".  Again, just so rocking!

This post inspired me to listen to The Electric Co. and Shadows And Tall Trees back to back. Great, great songs. Boy was definitely a good debut; October has Gloria, but most of the rest of it can't live up to it.

[aparadoxindeed]

Cool to see some other fans of Boy!  I just recently watched an old U2 concert from 1983 on Comcast OnDemand (if any of you guys have it) and they played all the good stuff from the first three albums!  I think the gig was in Germany, and I'm guessing Boy was pretty popular there because they played mostly stuff from that album.  The most insane part of all though is that they were only 22-23 at the time...

[KevShmev]

I read an article a little while ago about a band called The Eels. The author basically used the introduction as an excuse to badmouth U2. He was saying it's sad how some bands aren't prepared to take their sound which has proven to be a success and do interesting things with it to push themselves, and instead they play it safe, make the same music over and over, and basically write loads of rubbish. U2 was I think the sole example he gave.

The funny thing was, the guy clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

Clearly, since U2 did anything but play it safe in the 90s. 

But I think Bono has such a unique voice and The Edge has such a distinct guitar style, that when someone hears one or both, they think, "Oh, there is U2 doing the same thing again."  I've heard people say that about Rush, too, probably because of Geddy's also-unique voice.  What can you do?

[Pelata]

I read an article a little while ago about a band called The Eels. The author basically used the introduction as an excuse to badmouth U2. He was saying it's sad how some bands aren't prepared to take their sound which has proven to be a success and do interesting things with it to push themselves, and instead they play it safe, make the same music over and over, and basically write loads of rubbish. U2 was I think the sole example he gave.

The funny thing was, the guy clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

Clearly, since U2 did anything but play it safe in the 90s. 

But I think Bono has such a unique voice and The Edge has such a distinct guitar style, that when someone hears one or both, they think, "Oh, there is U2 doing the same thing again."  I've heard people say that about Rush, too, probably because of Geddy's also-unique voice.  What can you do?

I think you are correct. Bono and Edge are so distinctive, that no matter what styles they choose to explore/exploit, they still retain an unmistakable "U2" vibe...

They are easily one of my Top 3 favorite bands EVER...

[KevShmev]

  Bono and Edge are so distinctive, that no matter what styles they choose to explore/exploit, they still retain an unmistakable "U2" vibe...

For the most part, yes.  But anyone with two working ears who listens to their stuff from the 80s and then their stuff from the 90s and still thinks it all sounds the same either has a pair of broken ears or is deliberately being obtuse because they dislike U2.

[Pelata]

  Bono and Edge are so distinctive, that no matter what styles they choose to explore/exploit, they still retain an unmistakable "U2" vibe...

For the most part, yes.  But anyone with two working ears who listens to their stuff from the 80s and then their stuff from the 90s and still thinks it all sounds the same either has a pair of broken ears or is deliberately being obtuse because they dislike U2.

There are still signatures even in those older days...but they certainly don't sound "the same". "I Will Follow" sounds nothing like "Mysterious Ways" in terms of structure...but you can hear the Bono/Edge signatures.

[KevShmev]

Yeah, there is no mistaking Bono's voice for anyone else's, and The Edge's signature tone (which isn't on display in Mysterious Ways, to be honest) is just as identifiable. 

[bl5150]

It was almost Wednesday Bloody Wednesday for Bono

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u2-star-bonos-mid-air-scare-door-falls-learjet-15-n247526


Authorities still haven't found what they're looking for 

[Kotowboy]

Yeah, there is no mistaking Bono's voice for anyone else's, and The Edge's signature tone (which isn't on display in Mysterious Ways, to be honest) is just as identifiable.

If you wanna say The Edge uses delay on every song - why not have a go at Petrucci for using gain on every song ?

They're both a guitar "effect".

[TAC]

U2 tour:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/u2-announces-innocence-plus-experience-tour/ar-BBghIIs

[Anguyen92]

I could have swore you guys have another U2 thread somewhere in this mast forum.

Ahhh, this thread.

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=24968.245